Better Than Any Fairytale Hero
by M.Kena
Summary: Maybe he didn’t slay dragons, but he always knew how to take care of his little brother. And in Sam’s book, that made Dean better than any fairytale hero. Oneshot, AU, preseries


**Title:** Better Than Any Fairytale Hero

**Summary:** Maybe he didn't slay dragons, but he always knew how to take care of his little brother. And in Sam's book, that made Dean better than any fairytale hero. Oneshot, AU, pre-series

**Disclaimer:** Just playing

**Warning:** Um, none. This is totally a family story. Just worthless typing. I haven't written anything in a while and I have a thousand things brewing, I just needed to get something out.

**A/U:** So, this was a school project. I had nine words and I had to make a story out of them. The words were; forest, path, key, cup, water, building, trees, beast and obstacle. Instantly, I thought of the Winchesters. But I wasn't very well going to turn in a story about Sam and Dean. So… if you see any Gabriels that's Sam and David is Dean. I read through several times to fix any errors, but I might have missed some. Oh, and I wanted Mary alive, because they deserved to have a Mom, it is about fairytales, after all. So, read and review, no flames puh-lease.

* * *

The blue plastic cup crashed to the carpet, followed shortly by the lamp and everything else that had been unfortunate enough to be placed on the bedside table. Little Sam had never been a tidy sleeper, and now that he was sick, well, he might as well have been doing jumping jacks under the sheets. 

The narrow strip of light extending from the door to the foot of the bed widened as his powder blue door was opened. The old hinges groaned and the towheaded boy sat up, ready to fight the monsters that had emerged from his closet to devour him whole.

"Sammy?" It wasn't a monster at all. In fact, it was just the opposite. Dean was just about as close to a hero as you could be in his little brother's eyes. In Sam's world, his big brother could do no wrong. Dean sighed and shook his head, trying desperately to look like Mommy did when her sons did something wrong. "You're supposed to be sleeping."

Sam pouted adamantly and looked over at the now empty bedside table. "The monsters took my water." He whispered, his throat raw and achy from the flu he'd had for the past two days. He'd been upset at first about missing kindergarten, because he was the best at addition in all of Miss Wilson's classes, but the absence of homework turned out to be something that he quite liked, thank you very much.

Dean tried that Mommy look again, this time throwing in an eye roll. "Sam, there is no such thing as monsters." He insisted. "I've only told you about a thousand times by now."

Sam clutched his Spiderman blanket to his chest and looked fearfully at his closet. "Maybe they're not in your room, Dean. But they're in mine." He whispered. "They make big growling noises…"

Dean smiled and sat on the end of his baby brother's bed. "You're probably just hearing Dad snore. He does sound like a monster. Especially since you gave him the flu."

"I didn't mean to." Sam insisted, whining.

"I know, Sam." Dean assured him, realizing his little brother wasn't that fun to tease anymore. Ever since Dean had turned nine and become practically grown up, hanging out with his five year old brother was really hurting his reputation. He pulled Sam's blankets back over his brother and tucked him in. "You're still warm." He muttered, feeling Sam's forehead like Mommy always did. Though, in truth he didn't know what he was feeling for. Everyone always felt warm to him.

"I need more water. The monster took mine." Sam whispered; rolling on to his side, making sure he had his back to the monsters. If they were going to eat him, he didn't want to see their teeth.

"I'll get you your stupid water." Dean grumbled, yawning. Sam tried to stifle his giggle.

"Dad said you weren't allowed talk like that." Sam reprimanded.

"Well Dad is sleeping, and I'm not going to tell him. Are you?" Dean asked, raising his fist menacingly.

Sam shook his head, though he knew quite well his brother would never hit him. Heroes don't do things like that.

"Dean." Sam said softly. "Tell me a story."

Dean sighed and set down on his side, resting his head in the crook of his elbow. "Aren't we a little too old for fairytales?"

"It's not a fairytale. It's just a story about a hero."

Dean rolled his eyes again, though he loved this story as much as his brother, maybe even a little more.

"Okay." Dean conceded. "Once upon a time there was a grand castle surrounded by a thick forest. This was no ordinary forest. No, this was an enchanted forest."

Sam smiled widely. "Don't forget about the hero, Dean."

"You want to tell the story, little brother?"

"No. No. You do it best."

"As I was saying." Dean continued. "This was an enchanted forest full of dragons and other mean and nasty creatures. The castle was smack in the middle of this forest, but they couldn't very well have the king living among the dragons, could they?"

"No." Sam mouthed, shaking his head, afraid to make a sound and interrupt the story.

"So the magic witches and wizards, who were good guys, used their magic to clear out a huge circle of trees. And we're not talking about the puny little trees Mom has in the backyard. I'm talking about those gianormous ones, like that one in the park."

"The one we sit in?" Sam asked excitedly. Dean nodded.

"So, it took a heck of a lot of magic. So much, in fact, that the witches and wizards disappeared after that."

"Oh no." Sam gasped. And even though he'd heard this story more times than he could count, the disappearing witches and wizards always worried him.

"You can say that again." Dean agreed. "They needed that magic to protect the castle from the angry dragons who were sore about getting magically kicked out of their homes."

"This is where the hero comes in." Sam whispered to the room.

"So in comes the greatest hero of all time. Sir Dean." He shot his little brother an ominous look when Sam snickered. "He was tall, handsome and the bravest knight in the history of knights. He'd been knighted by the king when he barely out of diapers and he'd never once been defeated."

"Not once." Sam reiterated.

"So the king of the enchanted castle and forest came to Sir Dean and begged for his help in slaying all the dragons and finding the witches and wizards. Of course Sir Dean accepted the challenge, because he was bored with fighting ogres and trolls all day. 'Sir Dean,' the king said. 'Please, help us great hero. Go into the enchanted forest and bring back our witches and wizards.'"

Sam laughed when Dean tried to imitate the voice of a great king.

"Did he go?" Sam asked.

Dean nodded. "You bet he did. He took his white horse, Wind, and his sword and rode off in the woods."

"All alone?"

"All alone." Dean insisted.

"And he wasn't scared?"

"Course not. Heroes don't get scared."

"Everyone gets scared."

"Well not Sir Dean. Let me finish the story, Sammy, or I'm going to bed."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Be quiet." Dean took a deep breath and continued with his tale. "Anyway, three days into his trip, Dean got lost. He was tired, hungry and really thirsty. He was this close to giving up when he heard something in the distance. It sounded like cries for help. Dean drew his sword and ran off into the woods, ready to do what he did best and play hero. He walked into a clearing and froze. There in front of him was a wizard. He could tell by the long gray beard and the dark blue robes. 'Hey there, wizard. You and your kind are needed at the castle.' The wizard turned and greeted Dean with a warm smile that awoke the wrinkle lines around the man's mouth and eyes. 'We lost our magic years ago, boy.' He answered. 'But the dragons and the other monsters. They keep attacking the castle and I can only do so much.'"

"Sir Dean certainly thinks he's special, doesn't he?"

Dean and Sam looked at the doorway to see a very tired looking Mommy standing there in her pajamas; her eyes open to teeny slits. And she didn't look very happy.

"Why are you two up? It's the middle of the night."

"I needed water." Sam whispered. "And Dean was telling me a story."

"So I heard." She walked into the bedroom and they made a place for her on the small twin bed. "But you know Sam, that's not really how the story goes."

"It's not?" Sam and Dean asked simultaneously.

She shook her head. "Nope. You see. The king didn't only send Sir Dean on a quest, but his brother Sir Samuel as well."

Sam grinned at Dean cheekily only to get a violent growl in return.

"Sir Samuel wasn't set to fight though, since he was much too gentle for that. He liked to talk to the dragons and find out why they were so mad, unlike his brother who just liked to kill them."

"They'd talk." Dead defended. "Right before Sir Dean would chop their heads off."

She rolled her eyes and Dean wondered how long it had taken her to perfect the move. "Well, Sir Samuel was directed to the path of understanding."

Dean laughed and his mother flicked at his ear. He didn't make a peep after that, only kept a wary hand over the side of his head.

"On this path, he came across an old woman who refused to let him pass. Now, being a young man, he figured he could avoid her easily, but every direction he turned she stood in his path."

"Creepy." Dean whispered to his little brother. "She's like grandma."

"So he finally spoke to her." Their mother continued, ignoring the comment about her mother-in-law. "'Why do you block my path?' Sir Samuel asked her. She replied, 'Only those who are worthy may travel this path.' Well, Sir Samuel was certain of his worth so he asked her what he had to do to prove himself. 'Answer a simple question and if you get it right, you may advance. In my hands, I have two coins. If I add three and take away two, how many do I have?'" Their mother stopped and looked expectantly at her boys.

Dean groaned loudly. "Mom, you just turned bedtime stories into homework!"

"Three!" Sam cried, and after shushing him because Daddy was still sleeping, their mother announced he was correct and Sir Samuel was able to advance.

"In addition to passage, the old woman gave Sir Samuel a small silver key and told him never to lose it. So Sir Samuel continued down the path for days. He never stopped once. At night, fairies would light his way, it'd rain so he could drink, and birds flew him berries and other wild fruits. He was so focused on his goal that even sleep knew to stay away. When he reached the end of the path he came across a large tree. It was obvious this was an old tree. Higher than any castle in all the land and wider than any mote, Sir Samuel knew this was where he was meant to be. As he walked closer he noticed a door near the base of the tree. And then he noticed a keyhole. You can only guess where the key to the door was."

Sam gasped. "The old lady gave it to him!" He said excitedly and his mother nodded.

"That's right. And Samuel opened the door and found all the witched and wizards and they returned to the castle and protected it forever and for always. They all lived happily ever after. The end."

"That was bogus." Dean pouted. "No blood and gore." He looked over and Sam. "That was a fairytale." He got off the bed and their mother patted his back.

"Straight to bed, mister. You have school in the morning."

"I think I'm coming down with the flu." Dean said with big, innocent doe eyes. He threw in a cough and put his hands over his stomach.

Their mother only smiled. "I bet you are. Bed. Now."

Dean sighed and stomped off to his room.

She turned back to her youngest and ran her hand over his forehead. "You're barely even warm anymore. Do you feel better?"

"Yeah. Can I go to school tomorrow?"

"We'd better keep you out one more day. Just in case." She leaned down and kissed his forehead. "Besides, I need someone to help me with the errands tomorrow. You can pick out some breakfast cereal for you and your brother."

Sam nodded.

"Now, I want you to close your eyes and go to sleep." She kissed his forehead again and smiled at him. "Sleep tight, baby." She got up to leave when Sam's small whispered of, 'Mommy' called her back.

"The monster." He whispered.

She looked over at the closet and laughed. "That's just your father." She assured him. "Only in fairytales are there such things as monsters." She promised him and then flicked off the light and left the room.

Sam settled down in his bed and closed his eyes.

A quiet thud next to his head made him open them again. Dean set Sam's favorite blue cup down on the bedside table.

"Just getting you your water." He whispered and then left.

Maybe he didn't slay dragons, but he always knew how to take care of his little brother. And in Sam's book, that made Dean better than any fairytale hero.

_**End. **_

**_(c) Kena_**


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